SEPO

Thank you, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation for supporting this program from the very start. Thanks to your donors and the Mary Schilcher Fund, SEPO is able to continue to build literacy and academic confidence with Oshkosh youth.

At SEPO, we see literacy (and the confidence it instills) as liberation. It isn’t just about reading. It’s about preparing our scholars to navigate systems that weren’t designed with them in mind, to advocate for themselves and others, and to step boldly into their futures, making our community better by their presence.

Thank you Oshkosh Area Community Foundation for partnering with us in this work.

Students were running toward the van hoping for a seat. 🏃🏾‍➡️

That’s what SEPO Executive Director Mushe Subulwa witnessed when picking up students for the Building Literacy & Academic Confidence with Kids (BLACK) program. Others found their own way to the center, hoping there might still be room.

For 93 students, this program has become more than a literacy initiative. Students are advancing in reading, building confidence, forming meaningful connections, and discovering what’s possible when someone believes in them.

One student shared: “Before joining the program, I felt like reading was something other kids could do, not me...Now, I believe in myself too.”

Thanks to support from donors and the 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥, this life-changing program is helping young people strengthen their skills while finding their voice and their place in the community.

👇🏼 See comment below for link to the full story.

❤️🧡💚ONE LOVE❤️🧡💚

Another celebration for SEPO this week as SEPO was honored with the Friends of Education Award from the Oshkosh Area School District on Monday night.

This recognition honors more than a decade of steady, principled, community-rooted work to ensure every student in this district, especially those too often overlooked or underserved, is supported, affirmed, and prepared for their next steps.

We accept this award with gratitude and also with clarity: SEPO’s work has grown because families need a place where their children are treated with dignity and care, consistently. We are proud to stand in that gap, but will continue to push to narrow that gap as well.

SEPO deeply appreciates the district’s MCO team who have walked alongside us with integrity and shared purpose. We were proud to have them alongside us as SEPO received this honor.

To the entire SEPO team of volunteers, families, students, and supporters: this award is yours. You built this. Your commitment and purpose is what makes SEPO a place where young people thrive.

At SEPO we will continue doing what we can to stand in the gap, narrow the gap, build community, and expand access to quality education to every child in Oshkosh.

Get ready for a barrage of posts to catch everyone up on a week of pure joy at SEPO.

To kick things off, SEPO spent last weekend celebrating the Class of 2026 Graduates. So many of them have grown up in our youth programs and it was an honor to watch them meet this milestone.

We started things off by celebrating with them at the Arena with their families, followed by countless house parties. We hosted an after-party the following day at SEPO Center surrounded by graduates, mentors, siblings, laughter, music, and joy.

To the graduates – thank you for sharing yourselves with us. You carry SEPO with you as you move on to the next part of your story. And we are cheering you on every step of the way.

Tonight, I had the honor of receiving the Nancy Tonies Inspire and Impact Award on behalf of SEPO. The award celebrates the legacy of Nany Tonies, a woman whose life embodied service and community. It was a privilege to speak with her family who continue to carry her work forward.

Throughout the evening, people spoke about how the work requires the entire “village” (the collective care/responsibility/strength that make community possible). As someone raised in a literal village, that concept is not at all abstract to me. It is the foundation of SEPO’s work. Our mission is rooted in that same truth: we rise because we move together.

Deepest gratitude to Future Urban Leaders (FUL) for hosting such a powerful gathering and to the brilliant young people from FUL who traveled from Milwaukee to share space with us. Their presence was solidarity in action. FUL is a Milwaukee-based organization, yet they continue to see, uplift, and invest in the work happening in the Fox Valley. That kind of cross-city commitment builds a true pipeline of excellence for Wisconsin’s youth.

It was SEPO’s deepest privilege to stand alongside SiStar Society, whose leadership and relationship-rooted work inspires us and strengthens the ecosystem of care and advocacy across the state.

This work can be draining and exhausting. It happens quietly, behind the scenes, with limited resources and without the expectation of recognition. But last night reminds us that the work is seen. And, more importantly, the kids, families, and community we walk with are seen.

Thank you to Future Urban Leaders, the Tonies family, and everyone who nominated SEPO. A luta continua